Wilting Flowers
by loveistheonlyfuckingoptionxx
Summary: Behind every bloom is a wilting beauty.


Silver eyes flashed in the shadows of the huge castle. The clock toned behind him and he leaned forward on the railing, a secret smile encased in his lips. With its last chime he cast a pulled out his wand and picked up the orchid he had taken from the greenhouses. He lifted the orchid into the air and brought it to a hover right in front of the archway below.

A tangled mess of hair and robes swept out from the passage beneath him. She had her hands full of books, so typical, and she was so flustered trying to balance them that she walked straight into the orchid. He muffled a short laugh as she jumped backward and stared at the flower.

He backed away from the railing and turned down the stairwell, and off to the dormitories.

* * *

Granger set down her books and gingerly picked the bloom out of the air. It was beautiful. It looked to be an orchid, but never before had she seen an orchid such as this one in all her life. It had petals that seemed to be silver at one moment and a shimmering gold the next. The petals, she saw, faded into a deep purple in the center and the stem was so dark a green that it seemed to be nearly black. Around the base was tied a card on a silver ribbon. Written in tiny black letters was her name. Granger.

There had to be a mistake. It couldn't be for her. No one fancied her. Even Ronald had gone off with Lavender. Sure she didn't really see him as more than a friend, but everyone knew he'd liked her for years and now even he was above liking her. How could anyone even stand to look at her?

She looked up at the painting of the maiden and the unicorn as they danced in the meadow. "Hello Ms. Granger!"

"Hi Felicity." Hermione smiled at the girl. "You think it would be ok for me to go inside?"

"Of course Ms. Granger! You know the rules, "she giggled. "I can't let you in without the password!" she danced in a small circle around the unicorn.

"Oh very well. Warralotes aquidi."

The painting swung out and Hermione stepped through to a luscious room. To the left was a small kitchenette with all of the muggle appliances she was used to. To the right stood a huge fireplace lined with intricate bronze ivy that climbed up the wall and spilled out onto the ceiling overhead. Directly below was a coffee table with a curved couch of red and gold on each side and two sofa chairs at the head, across from the roaring fire.

Hermione dumped her books on the couch and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. The dimly lit room oozed warmth and comfort and it took everything in her power not to curl up and fall asleep on the couch. She shuffled her way over to the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil, grabbing her mug from the top shelf beside the sink. She twirled the bloom for a moment, staring out over the Black Lake. It couldn't be from any of the other Gryffindors, of that she was sure. Almost nobody, aside from herself and a few professors, used that passage on the outskirts of the school. Sure it was possible, after all it did let out right by herbology on the far end, but she doubted any of the students would take the time to walk the outer grounds when they could easily just walk through the castle. There was no way that anyone ever followed it at its full length around the school. There wasn't any need seeing as it seemingly just ended out past the owlry. That, obviously, she knew wasn't the case, since she knew of the veil over a pond off to the right of the trailhead.

The shrill scream of the kettle slowly pulled her back to reality from her daydreams of that clearing. Crooks jumped up on the counter and nudged her hand with a curious look in his eyes. "Alright, alright. It's time for bed. I know." She picked him up and set him on the ground, turning to grab the kettle to begin steeping her tea.

* * *

Okay guys. I'm sooo sorry that this is so terribly short. I promise that I'll work on making most of the chapters longer. I can't guarantee any type of weekly updates or anything, but I will try to get them in in under 2 weeks after each. I'd love reviews. I can never tell how bad my stuff is. Haha thanks. I'm done rambling. Love you guys! xoxox


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